Another shot of Hayden Proffitt's
Corvair-bodied missile clearly shows the lack of glass in the penthouse. Note
the driver's position in the center of the car and the ground clearance...no
ground effects here!

From a 21st century point of view, it's a
little difficult to think of this steel-bodied 'door slammer' as a funny car. In
the mid-'60s, Proffitt's Corvair helped define the funny car genre.

To the moon, Alice!

Hayden eventually dispensed with the weight
of the coupe's top altogether and wowed spectators with 'moon shot' launches
like the one in the photo at right.

The increasing popularity of funny cars was
unstoppable, and by the late '60s, spectators were treated to an impressive
array of radically modified flip-top 'floppies' (so-called because of the flex
exhibited by their fiberglass bodies). The Funny Car class became drag racing's
most popular.

The beautiful extended-wheelbase
Corvair-bodied racer seen below was campaigned in the Fuel Funny Car class by
the Pisano Bros., known to their friends and fans as 'Uncle' Joe and
Frankie.

In 1969, with Frankie in the hot seat, the
Pisano Bros. Corvair stormed to an awe inspiring elapsed time of 7.435 seconds @
195.64 MPH!